The Goal of Masters
by Apparuerit Diabolo et Loqui
Summary: Ash finds an injured Mew not far from Pallet Town. Join a non-retarded Ash, Young!Cythia and Misty as they travel the Pokemon world to attain their goals. Will be either Ash/Misty or Ash/Young!Cynthia (or maybe Cynthia/Misty - that would be fun), somewhat AU, modified mechanics, based on 'The Journey of a Master'.
1. 00 - Author Note

**Welcome to my first Pokémon fic.**

**ANs at the start detail the changes the Author has made are pretty common in Pokémon fics. This is no different. **

**This fic is based on 'Journey of a Master' by Sword Whisperer.**

**Aim:**

To create a fic where Ash isn't mentally disabled, goals are actually achieved and companions actually do things rather than follow Ash around like lost puppies. On top of that there aren't enough fics with Mew or Young!Cynthia in them.

**Chapters:**

I'm aiming for 10-12k chapters with about twelve chapters per region. So there will be one gym per chapter, plus four chapters doing other things like the Pokémon League, stopping a dastardly plot, covering movies etc. At the end there should be about 60-70 chapters all up according to my notes.

**Shipping:**

This fic won't focus on shipping. There will be shipping but it won't take centre stage. I'm not sure if it will be Ash/Cynthia or Ash/Misty at this point (or maybe Misty/Cynthia? Heh).

**AN - I do now know. Please cease sending me reviews demanding I ship one way or the other. I really couldn't give a damn what people want to see shipped.**

**.**

Before we begin I need to make a few AU points rather clear. They're divided into 'Important AU Notes' and 'AU that will be explained in-story'. I recommend reading the Important AU Notes before reviewing with questions and such. I really don't want to see reviews where people are telling me things are non-canon.

**Important AU Notes:**

-This fic is aiming to be a bit more serious than the anime. So there won't be Team Rocket blasting off every episode and very little love-struck Brock.

-I aim to make things a little bit more realistic. Character will age, personalities will mature, and Ash and Pikachu won't act like they hit their heads a few to many times between regions and become retarded... you should get the point.

-There will actually be a conclusion! No more Ash aiming to be a Pokémon Master but doing very little to achieve that goal, and no more companions just following around Ash for the sake of it – i.e. some companions will challenge gyms.

-Ten is the age people can get their _Pokémon Trainers Licence._ But most parents aren't insane and don't let their children suddenly wander the world alone with a potentially volatile monster by themselves. Most children instead start their journey between twelve and fourteen – _once their Pokémon is strong enough to stop them from being killed by wild Pokémon/abducted/robbed_.

-As mentioned earlier, Team Rocket won't be blasting off every episode. They will instead be like they were in Black and White – so reasonably competent and observing from a distance.

-Pokéballs won't teleport away once you have more than six; it's just too convenient. Instead you have to get rid of them next time you find a transporter. I'm not sure if I'll make a plot point out of this.

-The early instalment weirdness – like the super-massive Pokémon (think Tentacruel the size of a city and Dragonite taller than a light-house), Sabrina turning people into dolls, Ashachu and other strange filler – will be ignored at my discretion. I'm also thinking of removing any mentions of sovereign kingdoms from the series such as the odd few in the movies, the one that likes Togepi and I'll be turning Dawn's doppelgänger into the heiress for some large company instead of a princess (I might have her nicknamed princess though!)

-I will probably ignore quite a few of the movies. At this stage I WON'T be ignoring The First Movie, and Celebi: Voice of the Forest. I haven't got enough of the later plot fully fleshed out enough right now to figure that out.

-Some Pokémon which I find silly will be ignored like Vanillite and its evolutions, Klink and its evolutions, Honedge and its evolutions and Klefki – along with others like them. I really hate the idea of flying swords being Pokémon along with flying ice-cream and gears.

-It should be obvious but Cynthia is about the same age as Ash and Misty in this fic. I haven't figured out how I'm going to rearrange the Sinnoh Elite Four/Sinnoh Champion without Cynthia in it yet.

-All of the extra types found in later generation along with all the later gen Pokémon will be there from the start.

-Mega-evolution doesn't exist as they mess with things too much for my liking.**  
**

**Things that will be explained in-story:**

-There are two routes to become the Master:

a)

1) Gain eight gym badges, enter region tournament, and win.

2) Challenge the Elite Four, beat each member and NOT take their titles. You're now a master trainer but not _the _Master.

3) Challenge the Region Champion and win. Because you weren't an Elite Four member you can't take the title of Region Champion.

4) As you've defeated a Region Champion you can enter the World Tournament.

Note: This method is considered easier because you don't need to assume the responsibilities of a Champion/Elite Four Member nor defend the title of Region Champion/Elite Four Member.

b)

1) Gain eight gym badges, enter region tournament, and win.

2) Challenge an Elite Four Member for their title and win making you an Elite Four member. You're now a master trainer but not _the _Master.

3) Challenge the Region Champion for their position and win making you Region Champion.

4) As a Region Champion you can enter the World Tournament.

Note: It's the harder route as you have to do things as Champion/Elite Four member.

-The regions will go in order of; Kanto, Sinnoh, Hoenn, a short stint in Sinnoh, a short stint in Kanto and then Johto. After that it gets a bit muddled and won't be bound by regions much.

-Gyms are divided into 'Limited' and 'Unlimited' Gyms. Limited gyms are gyms where the leader isn't allowed to go all out on trainers. It's intended that new trainers begin with Limited gyms. Say there are 12 gyms in Kanto for example and maybe 3 or so would be Limited. When a new Unlimited gym slot opens up the Limited gym leaders battle it out for the slot.

-Brock isn't going to be a companion; rather he will be a recurring character like Gary.

-I may follow the 'war killed off many of the adults' backstory at some point.

-If aura makes an appearance it won't devolve to Godlike!Ash.

-There are one-of-a-kind Legendaries and there are run of the mill Legendaries. One-of-a-kind includes the 'God' Pokémon Arceus along with Dialga and Palkia. Capturing them is either impossible or really dumb. Capturing run of the mill Legendaries doesn't destroy the world unless the single Pokémon provides some sort of vital function.

-Misty will actually mature personality wise on screen. She doesn't change through Kanto, OI or Johto then comes back in AG all grown up. She'll grow up 'on screen' so to say


	2. 01 - The Beginning

**Welcome to my first Pokemon fic.  
**

**Please read the AN at the start as it covers what things I'm making AU. I don't want reviews/PMs from people telling me I've gotten something wrong.**

**Yes, I changed my pen name. I really didn't want to keep using my actual name for fanfic. Metaphorical cookies for those who can translate it literally.**

**This fic is based on the - now abandoned - 'Journey of a Master' with some themes from 'Red Victory'  
**

* * *

**The Goal of Masters**

**Chapter One:**

**The Beginning**

Ash Ketchum woke up at an unusually early hour for a teen of thirteen. Today was the day – the day Ash had agreed with his mum on – that he could start his journey; his journey to become a Pokémon Master.

Getting up out of bed he disturbed the sleeping Pikachu on his bed, waking him.

"Pika –" said the Pikachu before being cut off by a yawn.

"Hey buddy, you've got to get up. Today is the day!" said Ash causing Pikachu to perk up.

Shuffling around his room, Ash sought out the clothes to wear for the first day of his journey and had a quick shower. After getting dressed he proceeded downstairs to the kitchen – Pikachu in tow – to where his mother was making breakfast.

"Good morning, dear," said Ash's mum – Delia Ketchum – as he walked in.

"Pika-pi!" said Pikachu indigently at being ignored.

"Oh – and a good morning to you as well, Pikachu," she added sweetly. "I was expecting to have to wake you up, dear. We don't want a repeat of three years ago, do we?"

Ash cringed slightly at the thought, though ultimately it had been a good thing because without it he would never have become best buddies with Pikachu.

Professor Oak – the resident Pokémon Professor in Pallet Town – only handed out starter Pokémon to the children of Pallet Town one day a year. No one really knew why but Ash suspected it was so every child in that age group started training Pokémon at the same time and so they could compare progress with each other without complaints of someone else starting earlier or later.

The year Ash turned ten – the age you could get your Pokémon Trainers Licence – Ash accidentally broke his alarm clock and was very late; causing him to miss out on the normal starter Pokémon. Instead, Professor Oak had managed to scrounge up a Pikachu for Ash to use a starter.

Pikachu was very reluctant at first and flat out refused to go inside his Pokéball. It wasn't until several days later when the pair was attacked by a group of Spearow and Ash shielded Pikachu from their attacks that Pikachu warmed up to Ash. They've been inseparable since.

The pair had travelled all around the area surrounding Pallet Town – managing to capture a Magikarp and a Pidgeotto – and today was the day they could finally travel further afield and complete in the Pokémon League. Until now Ash's mum had said he wasn't old enough and Pikachu hadn't been trained enough for him to be travelling out on his own. Most parents and guardians were the same; telling their children they couldn't leave the safety of home until their Pokémon was strong enough to stop them from being killed by wild Pokémon and that they were mature enough. Most children could leave by the time they were thirteen or fourteen.

Delia had initially set the age her son could start his journey at fourteen but Ash had managed to haggle it down to thirteen and a half because that would coincide with the date that Gary Oak – Professor Oak's grandson – would start his journey.

Together Delia and Ash ate the breakfast Delia had prepared while Pikachu happily ate tomato sauce with a little bit of Pokémon food mixed into it. During the meal they didn't speak, Delia projecting both happiness that Ash was starting his journey and sadness that he was finally leaving the nest.

"I went through the stuff you packed, dear," she said finally breaking the silence. "You needed more underwear and socks."

If Ash had been consuming something liquid-like – such as breakfast cereal – he probably would have done a spit take at that; instead he nearly choked on his eggs and toast as he tried to swallow it too fast.

"Th-thanks mum," he said weakly in between coughs and sputters as he tried to clear his airways.

o0o0o0o

With his mum having finished giving him a weepy goodbye and Pikachu on his shoulder Ash stepped out the front door and into the wide world ready to start his journey; except maybe he should say goodbye to Professor Oak first – he did give Ash Pikachu after all.

So Ash took off down the road intent of thanking Professor Oak before he left town only to find a small crowd gathered near the gate leading to the Laboratory; in the centre of this crowd stood Gary Oak.

"People of Pallet Town, I – Gary Oak – will bring glory to our humble town when I become a Pokémon Master!" he said to the small crowd.

To Ash's surprise there were no cheerleaders or a chauffeured sports car, but Gary was still as arrogant and big headed as always.

When Ash and Gary – along with two other new trainers in Pallet Town – received their Pokémon, Gary had refused to let Ash know who he'd chosen. It wasn't until several months later that Ash had found out when he came across Gary and his Squirtle training in the forest surrounding Pallet Town.

"Ah – Ashey-boy!" exclaimed Gary as he noticed Ash at the edge of the crowd. "Come to see me off? What is it; didn't your mum say you have to be fourteen before you can start your journey?"

"Actually Gary, it's today," shot back Ash. "Isn't that right Pikachu?"

"Pika!" replied Pikachu firmly as his cheeks lit up with electricity.

"Well Ashey-boy, how much did you need to beg for that?"

Ash ignored what Gary had said. In some ways you _could_ say that constantly asking your mother until she wore down begging…

"Hey, Gary," asked Ash as he ignored the previous comment. "Is the Professor in?"

"Yea, Gramps is in," replied Gary. Seeing this as his cue to leave Gary started to proclaim. "Well, Pallet Town, I leave on my difficult and dangerous journey. I thank you for your kind support."

With that Gary walked past the crowd and out of town to the cheering of fans.

Having finished with his verbal spar, Ash walked up the path to the door of Professor Oak's laboratory while Pikachu sat on his shoulder.

"Professor?" called out Ash as he entered the lab.

"Oh – hello Ash," said Professor Oak as he looked up from his computer. "How are you? Isn't today the day you leave on your journey? I do recall Delia said something about it."

"It is, Professor," replied Ash. "Me and Pikachu are ready for it. I just thought I should say goodbye and thank you for giving me Pikachu."

Professor Oak gave a small chuckle while Pikachu said 'Pikachu!' in agreement.

"It's no problem, Ash," said the Professor. "Pikachu was costing me a fortune in electrical wiring anyway."

Ash gave Pikachu a smile at that while Pikachu looked slightly abashed.

"So yea – thanks again," repeated Ash. "I dunno when I'll see you next but I'll try to keep you updated."

"Well – actually, if you time it right you might see me in Cerulean City," said the Professor. "I'm attending an archaeology conference there."

"Archaeology?" asked Ash. "But aren't you a Professor of Pokémon?"

"I may be but it doesn't mean I can't attend an archaeology conference."

o0o0o0o

Ash and Pikachu spent a good portion of the day walking towards Viridian City. During their walk from Pallet Town the pair had so far seen many Pokémon; but chose not to try and capture any.

Earlier in life Ash might have tried to capture everything in sight that moved but now it just didn't seem right to capture a Pokémon that didn't have much potential; a Pokémon that just wouldn't stand up to some serious battling down the track and be discarded – It just flat out didn't seem like the right thing to do.

So Ash made the decision to only capture a Pokémon he would want to stick with for life and wouldn't neglect through non-use.

With the few hours of sunlight left they set up camp and spent those hours remaining of the day trying to master Iron Tail. They had been working on it off and on for several months after seeing how poorly an electric-type like Pikachu fared against the Pewter City Gym Leader; Brock.

It had only been because of an enormous amount of luck and the emergency fire suppression system that they had won the battle. So, ever since the pair had been learning Iron Tail; except the intention had been to finish it _before_ they started their journey – but too late for that.

"Pikachu," said Ash as they pair relaxed after another failed Iron Tail training session. "I think we need to see a demonstration in real life of Iron Tail to get it right. The guide in the Pokédex is pretty good but it just doesn't beat seeing the real thing in action."

"Pi-ka," agreed Pikachu exhaustedly.

After eating a hot canned meal the pair went to bed – Pikachu snuggling up in the warmth of Ash's sleeping bag.

o0o0o0o

So far this morning Ash and Pikachu hadn't seen much in the way of Pokémon – just a few Rattata – along with someone else's camp; though the owner of the camp wasn't in sight. On top of that dark clouds were approaching; darkening the sky even thought it had only just turned midday.

"Isn't this the clearing with the Spearow?" asked Ash to Pikachu as they gazed around the newfound clearing.

It certainly looked like the clearing with _those_ Spearow to Pikachu. Pikachu didn't particularly like the Spearow very much but they had being instrumental in forging the now-unbreakable bond between Pikachu and his trainer so maybe they did have something he should thank them for.

"Pika!" replied Pikachu now he was sure it was indeed that clearing.

"Keep your eyes out, Pikachu," said Ash. "I don't think either of us wants to get mobbed by them again."

The pair then cautiously made their way across the clearing, keeping an eye out for the Spearow.

"I don't think they're around here anymore," said Ash not having seen a feather of them.

At that moment Pikachu's ears twitched as his superior hearing picked up something in the distance.

"Pikapi, Pika!" exclaimed Pikachu getting Ash's attention and pointing off into the forest. Once Pikachu had gotten his trainers attention he ran off in the direction he had been pointing at.

"Pikachu, wait!" shouted Ash before he realised Pikachu wasn't coming back sprinted off after him.

As Ash followed Pikachu through the trees he could begin to hear what sounded very much like a lot of Spearow; a sound he and Pikachu were _very_ familiar with.

Ash eventually broke through the forest and into a small clearing to find Pikachu about let of a Thunderbolt. Ash was about to ask Pikachu what would he achieve by pissing off the four odd dozen Spearow circling around the clearing when he saw just why there were in the clearing.

"Pikachu! Keep the circling Spearow back with Thunderbolt!" shouted out Ash as Pikachu directed the bolts of lightning towards the Spearow high in the sky.

"Piii-kaa-chuu!" said Pikachu as he unleashed the first bolt; lighting the clearing a yellowy-gold colour.

Ash had no idea what the Spearow were attacking other than it was small, pink and on the ground being attacked by several Spearow – circling much closer than the others – who were taking turns to swoop down and peck at it.

The initial thought had been to direct Pikachu's Thunderbolts at the Spearow attacking the mystery Pokémon but – unfortunately – Pikachu's Thunderbolts had a habit of causing some… _collateral_ damage and striking more than the designated target; something unacceptable given that the mystery Pokémon was clearly very injured.

With no other clear option Ash chose to enter the fray himself; selecting a thick heavy stick off the ground from the edge of clearing while Pikachu tried to keep the rest of the Spearow from interfering with more cries of 'Piii-kaa-chuu!' and Thunderbolts.

Club in hand Ash charged towards the mobbed mystery Pokémon and took a swing at the nearest Spearow; striking it on the wing.

"Rooow!" it called out as its momentum from the dive carried it to the ground where it crushed with a soft 'thump'. The now injured Spearow forced itself to its feet and did its best to fly away at full pace; it's now damaged wing flapping meekly.

The other Spearow – not eager to earn their own injuries from an angry trainer with the big stick –retreated further into the air.

"Pikachu, now! Thunderbolt!" shouted out Ash as he gave another swing in the direction of the Spearow; causing them to retreat another dozen feet further into the air.

Pikachu didn't need it explained to him which Spearow his trainer meant with the clear shot available to him.

o0o0o0o

With most of the Spearow now hovering outside of Thunderbolt range – while the few still inside struggled to recover from Paralysis, and get away from the trainer and his Pikachu – Ash could finally focus his attention on the mystery pink Pokémon.

"Mew, mew, mew," the mystery Pokémon – '_Probably called 'Mew''_ thought Ash obviously – mumbled in delirium.

Ash touched the Pokémon's forehead and found it to be very cold and clammy while its body was covered in assorted bruises and cuts – most probably from the Peck attacks of the Spearow. Worse still, the steadily darkening clouds turned out to be those of a thunderstorm; lightning and thunder were approaching in the distance.

Dropping his bag while Pikachu stood guard, Ash fished out the blanket the pair usually sat on while they ate their meals. Gingerly he picked up the delirious pink Pokémon and placed it in the centre of the blanket before carefully wrapping it up while taking care not to cover it face and accidentally suffocate it.

The most immediate concern fixed Ash retrieved his Pokédex hoping to find out more about this Pokémon – for all he knew a low body temperature was normal for them.

"_Mew; the legendary psychic Pokémon – little is known about this Pokémon though some speculate it is the ancestor to all other Pokémon because of its unique DNA structure and ability to use nearly every known move," _said the Pokédex in its electronic voice.

"_Fuck,_" swore Ash in shock before remembering why he had gotten his Pokédex out in the first place.

Checking the little biological information available in his Pokédex about the legendary Mew Ash found its body temperature which – according to the sketchy data available – should be slightly colder than a human body temperature; Mew was _much_ colder than that.

"Dammit," muttered Ash he glanced around the clearing in thought. This Mew clearly needed medical attention fast; he could either carry it to Viridian City – which carried the problem of _how_ far Viridian City actually was away, it could be twenty minutes or it could be another day for all he knew – or he could turn back to Pallet Town – which he _knew_ would only take about five or six hours assuming he took the direct route instead of the scenic route he had chosen on the way up here.

Then; suddenly Ash remembered.

"There was a bike!" said Ash to no one in particular while Pikachu ignored his trainer's antics and kept watch for anymore foolhardy Spearow who thought they could get near to him or his trainer.

Back at the camp he and Pikachu had passed was a bicycle. With a bike it would probably only take an hour or less to get back to Professor Oak's lab. On top of that it was only five minutes back down the road at a run. Taking it might _technically_ have been stealing but Mew's life was a bit more important than that and he could return it later.

"Pikachu, follow quickly and keep your eyes out for more Spearow," ordered Ash quickly as he carefully picked up the wrapped-up Mew and started off at a run back towards Pallet Town and a soon-to-be-stolen bicycle just as it started to rain.

o0o0o0o

Misty Waterflower – aspiring water Pokémon Master and Cerulean City's youngest of four gym leaders – was walking back from a new lake she had found. She unfortunately hadn't caught anything today and had to cut her fishing short after only half an hour because of the approaching thunderstorm; after all a fishing rod is very similar to a lightning rod.

As Misty approached he campsite she heard the indiscernible sound of some sort of Pokémon attack followed by a bolt of lightning shooting up to the sky at a forty-five degree angle; nearly striking what appeared to by some sort of flying Pokémon.

'_Probably some more of those nasty Spearow,'_ she thought as she broke into a run fearing for the safety of her hopefully still hole-free tent and dry sleeping bag.

Just as Misty got into sight of her campsite she saw a boy in a cap riding a bicycle quickly down the path and off in the opposite direction to Viridian City. It then took a few moments for Misty to realise it was _her_ bicycle the boy was riding.

Before she completely blew her top Misty picked up the pace and continued running towards her camp to find it bike-less.

"Damn thief!" she shouted. "That little bugger stole my bike!"

After she had taken a few minutes to cool down Misty realised; it was going _away_ from Viridian City – towards Pallet Town she remembered – there aren't exactly many places the thief could go with her bike.

Making her decision Misty packed up her camp in the rain and braved the storm to catch her thief in sleepy Pallet Town.

o0o0o0o

Ash rode the _'borrowed'_ bicycle as fast as he could towards Pallet Town and Professor Oak's lab. Pikachu was sitting in the basket out the front of the bike and had initially let off the odd Thunderbolt at the – then-still – pursuing Spearow; however after the first nearby lightning strike landed with a bone rattling '_boom' _the Spearow quickly abandoned the chase to roost in some trees and not get struck by the lightning quickly filling the dark sky.

Meanwhile Mew – who to Ash's thanks was still making 'Mew' noises and whimpering every so often – was stuffed inside Ash's jacket to keep warm.

Eventually – to what felt like an eternity to Ash – Pallet Town came into sight over the crest of a hill. Keeping up the pace Ash rode to the foot of the tiny hill the Professor's Lab was situated on and quickly dismounted the bicycle – abandoning it at the sign at the front of the lab – before racing to the front door with Pikachu at his heels and Mew in his arms.

"Professor!" called out Ash as he rapped on the front door of the Professors Lab with his free hand.

When the Professor didn't answer the door immediately Ash tried again.

"Professor! Professor Oak!" he shouted this time as he banged on the door.

Eventually – what once again felt like an eternity to Ash – the door to the Lab was opened by the Professor.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," said Professor Oak as he unlocked and opened the door to his Lab. "What's the matt –"

The Professor paused mid-sentence in surprise when he saw a drenched Ash at the door.

"Ash, my boy, what are you doing back here so soon?" he asked.

"Professor – you need to help; this Pokémon is really sick," Ash managed to get out very fast as soon as Professor Oak stopped speaking.

Without hesitation the Professor glanced at the wrapped bundle, unceremoniously abandoned his coffee cup on a nearby shelve, turned around and led Ash to the medical clinic as he continued talking.

"What the matter with it?" he asked as he rummaged through several cabinets as he collected a variety of medicines.

"It was being attacked by a whole heap of Spearow but I think there's more to it than that," started Ash. "It's really cold – colder than it should be – and it should have been able to get itself away from the Spearow. I think it must have eaten something or caught something nasty."

"Hmm," hummed the Professor as he continued collecting medicine, grabbing a few extra things for poisoning and common illnesses. "What type is it?"

"It's a psychic-type, Professor – a Mew."

Professor Oak paused with his back to Ash for several seconds in shock before blinking a few times and then quickly gathering what things he still needed before moving them onto the table next to the bed in the clinic. Having done so he finally took the time to actually take a look at the Pokémon Ash had brought in.

o0o0o0o

Professor Oak was shocked to say the least. He was already slightly surprised that Ash was at his door when he should have be in Viridian City by now but that was nothing in comparison to a trainer who had just started his journey stumbling across a legendary Mew!

Regardless, Ash had been right; she – as he knew now after checking – had eaten something funny. On top of that _and_ the injuries sustained by the Fearow she was rather emaciated and underweight – or so he thought; he didn't have much data on the subject to know what exactly the expected weight of a Mew is.

This though still didn't make much sense; how does a legendary Pokémon starve and then eat some sort of poisonous plant? Professor Oak found that answer in the slightly more vast data available to him as a researcher; this Mew was tiny.

Though they had never managed to weigh a Mew before they did have the odd elusive photograph and thus they knew how tall they usually were and how long their bulbous tails usually were. So the safe conclusion was that this Mew was young; how young exactly though he didn't know. If Mew was young it would explain why she ate something she shouldn't have and had trouble finding food in the first place.

Still, this opened further questions like how do Mew breed? Very few legendaries had been documented to breed. The few that had included Lugia who had been found to breed near the Whirl Islands in the Johto Region and Rayquaza who were highly prolific – for a legendary Pokémon that is – high in the atmosphere.

Getting back to important job of treating a seriously ill Mew, Professor Oak pushed the divergent thoughts out of his mind while a concerned Ash and Pikachu stood silently to the side watching with worry and concern.

o0o0o0o

It took several hours of injecting Mew with various medicines – after testing her blood in various machines, stitching up serious gashes, and bandaging several sprains to get her up to a level of health where her own body could start dealing with the prolific injuries.

"Ash, why don't you go home and get some rest?" asked the Professor after tending to Mew's most pressing injuries. "You look dead on your feet."

The Professor was probably right; Ash did look like a dead man walking. He was still rather damp from the rain head to toe, his jeans were covered in mud and up his back was a brown line from where the rear tire of the bike had flung up mud as they raced down the dirt road to Pallet Town. On top of that he simply looked exhausted – and Pikachu wasn't much better.

"I think I'll stay, Professor," he replied giving a nod in Mew's direction.

"Very well," said Professor Oak with a sigh. "At least get changed out of those wet clothes though – you can use my office to change."

Returning to the clinic a few minutes later in an identical – yet clean and dry – set of clothes, Ash retrieved a towel from his bag and went to dry off Pikachu only to find him dozing on the free bed. So Ash improvised and used the towel as a blanked for the small electric Pokémon.

"How's she doing?" asked Ash for the first time. Earlier Ash had refrained from asking; not wanting to distract the Professor from his healing duties.

"She's out of the woods," he replied. "I think she'll recover fully but it will take some time before she's up to her previous strength and healed completely – I think… We don't know very much about Mew."

Ash merely nodded at the information as he finally relaxed on a nearby chair. Seeing that Ash still exhausted Professor Oak made a suggestion.

"How about I call your mother?" he asked. "I doubt I'll be able to kick you out of the lab so why don't I ask her to bring some food in for you? It is getting pretty late."

Ash then only realised it was nearing dusk, he hadn't had lunch and that he'd been in the lab for over five hours before giving the Professor a silent nod.

o0o0o0o

Professor Oak's call to Ash's mother – Delia Ketchum – resulted in her bringing around a full dinner for the three of them to share.

Delia spent the time between finishing their meal and leaving cooing over how cute Mew was despite being unconscious and bandaged in Professor Oak's lab while Ash regaled the tale of finding Mew to the Professor.

Once peace and quiet was restored Ash and Pikachu curled up on a chair opposite Mew in a sleeping bag and took an early night's sleep.

Ash was woken long into the night by sounds of what he thought was Mew waking up. Carefully he removed Pikachu from his lap – doing his best not to wake him, though ultimately failing – before leaving Pikachu on another chair, covering him in a blanket and walking up to the bed Mew had been sleeping on while the now awake Pikachu watched.

Mew was still hooked up to an IV drip, and a machine that kept an eye on heart rate, blood oxygen and breathing. Initially the machine had made lots of noise but the Professor said he could turn them off assuring Ash the sounds would come back on if something went wrong.

Inspecting Mew, Ash found that the sedatives that should have kept her fully unconscious had worn off and she was now dreaming. However, based on the fact that Mew was shaking and whimpering again Ash assumed the dreams weren't very pleasant.

Making a decision Ash scooted the chair closer to the bed before lifting and cradling Mew carefully – taking care that he didn't disturb the various vitals sensors lest Professor Oak come running, or that Mew's long tail fell off the bed and woke her. Almost instantly Mew began to calm down and slip into a once again peaceful slumber.

Not wanting to risk waking her Ash got back into his sleeping bag and continued cradling Mew as he want to sleep. Not long after Pikachu followed with thoughts – not for the first time – of how caring a trainer Ash Ketchum was.

o0o0o0o

Mew woke the next morning still tired, sore and stiff – both from the injuries sustained, and the constricting bandages. Suddenly remembering the pain and the anguish that she imagined would be her final thoughts Mew suddenly tensed and prepared to run only to find she was actually quite warm and comfortable – not to mention feeling very safe – at the moment.

Not feeling like she needed to fight for her life right now Mew decided to take in the sights, smells and sounds of her surroundings.

For the sights there wasn't really much to say; it was just dark.

For smells the most overpowering smell shouted caution; caution her natural sense of curiosity and playfulness would overrule.

As for sounds, the loudest sound she could hear was the steady deep breathing of creature cradling her, comforting her and giving her the feeling of safety.

Concluding she would be okay here and still very tired, Mew drifted back into a peaceful sleep.

o0o0o0o

Misty Waterflower had just had a very unpleasant night.

She had spent yesterday afternoon after packing up her campsite walking through the rain towards Pallet Town, dressed only in her yellow sleeveless hoodie and three-quarter length jeans. After several hours of walking, with the sun quickly setting, cold and soaked to the bone she made the call to set up camp for the night and continue her trek in the morning.

She woke up the next morning to find not a cloud in the sky, and made herself and her Pokémon breakfast before she continued her trek.

"What the Hell?" she swore as she reached the top of the very first ridge.

Before Misty was a sign proclaiming a welcome to the visitors of Pallet Town. Only a few hundred metres beyond the sign was Pallet Town itself.

"Just my luck," she said grumpily and aloud to no one in particular. "If only I had kept walking for five _– _no, _two_ – more minutes I would have had a warm bed to sleep in!"

Walking the last few hundred metres into Pallet Town, Misty formulated her plant to catch her bike thief; she would start by walking down every street looking for it. If that didn't work she could wait in town for a few days; the thief would eventually use the bike her had just stolen and she would hopefully spot him.

This however was all for naught as at the end of the main street – the first street Misty had walked down – was her bike. Unharmed – though caked in mud – and just sitting there propped up against a sign.

_Oak Pokémon Research Lab._

The thief just abandoned the stolen bicycle out the front of the Laboratory of the world famous Professor Oak?

Shrugging at the oddness of abandoning a bicycle here of all places Misty fished her bike chain out of her backpack and locked up her bike where she found it before walking up the path to Professor Oak's Laboratory intent on asking if he'd seen the thief.

"Hello," said the Professor as he opened the door, coffee in hand.

"Professor Oak?" she asked before getting a nod. "Hi, I'm Misty. Do you happen to know anything about the bike out the front of your Lab? It's mine but someone stole it yesterday."

Professor Oak took a glance at it and seeing it was caked in mud came to an understanding.

"Oh," he said simply. "I may have an idea. Why don't you come in?"

Misty followed the Professor into the lab where he took a seat at his desk before offering a seat to Misty.

"You're one of the Cerulean City Gym leaders, aren't you?" asked the Professor after offering Misty a drink which she declined.

"Well… yes," she replied unevenly to which the Professor gave a nod – ignoring her unease.

"Your bike didn't happen to go missing up on Route 1, did it?"

"It did," she replied carefully.

"Well, I should apologise then on behalf of one of my trainers then," said the Professor awkwardly. "He found a very injured Pokémon on Route 1 yesterday and he – uh – may have _borrowed_ your bicycle to get it back here. It was a rather close call."

With the revelation that her bike was stolen saving a Pokémon's life Misty let out a breath and relaxed a little.

"He's still sleeping right now; so I can't tell for sure if he borrowed your bike. I was about to check on him actually."

Misty followed Professor Oak out of the main lab, down a corridor and into a medical clinic. Entering the clinic she saw a boy about her age sitting in a chair with his back to her near one of the beds. Upon the bed was a Pikachu watching the boy.

"Ash?" asked the Professor, testing if he was awake.

Ash didn't say anything. Instead he slowly turned his head and faced Professor Oak before raising a single finger to his lips in the universal sign of '_shut up'_.

Getting the hint that Mew was sleeping, Professor Oak approached carefully while Misty hung back in the doorway.

"She's going to have to wake up at some point Ash," said the Professor quietly. "I have to run some test and check her over. Unless I sedate her again she'll wake up. Considering _what_ she is I don't want to wake her half-way through a test either and have her trash my lab – she's probably very powerful."

Ash gave a sigh and conceded; understanding the Professor's point. But he really had no idea how to wake a baby Pokémon – especially a Pokémon that had been through such trauma.

Deciding to get it over with rather than dwell on it for half-an-hour Ash choose the 'pet Mew until she wakes up' approach figuring doing so would give of an air of calmness and safety.

"Meeewww," called out Mew as she rolled in Ash's arms after Ash – feeling a little bit daring when petting didn't work – gave Mew a scratch behind her ears.

Mew continued withering as Ash gave her a few good scratches before stopping and opening her eyes to gaze up at Ash.

"Woken up now, Mew?" he asked good-naturedly to which Mew made a noise that Ash assume was agreement.

Seeing that Mew was awake, Professor Oak and Misty felt it was safe to approach and get a good look at Pokémon Ash was holding. Seeing movement out of the corners of her eyes, Mew turned to look at the newcomers before panicking and trying to bury herself in Ash's jacket.

Seeing as this legendary Pokémon wasn't going to be easy to deal with Professor Oak gave a very audible sigh.

"Probably best we give Ash a few moments to calm her down," said the Professor to Misty as he led her out of the clinic. "I'm – again – very sorry about the hassle."

"It's no problem," she replied. Most of Misty's annoyance and anger at her bike's theft left her when she had found out it was to save an injured Pokémon. The very last of it left when she saw the adorable little thing in the boy's arms.

o0o0o0o

Back in the clinic, Ash was doing his best to calm Mew down with back rubs and soothing sounds. Pikachu eventually joined in trying to speak to Mew and calm her down as well. To Ash's surprise Mew didn't react poorly to Pikachu's presence; he had assumed that any strangers might set her off but it didn't seem to include Pikachu.

After several minutes of work with help from Pikachu, Ash managed to calm Mew down enough to the point where she was inquisitively gazing about at her surroundings again while Pikachu tried to talk to her.

"Think it would be good for her to get out of this room, buddy?" asked Ash. "Maybe show her around the Professor's Lab before she meets new people?"

"Pi-ka," replied Pikachu in agreement.

"Guess that means I need to disconnect everything," thought Ash aloud.

The IV was relatively easy to figure out how to disconnect and was rather pointless at this point as it had run out during the night but the various electrical sensors gave Ash some concern. Ash eventually decided to simply turn the machine off at the switch so when he disconnected Mew from the machine it wouldn't start making a racket and send Mew back into a panic because it had thought Mew had flat-lined.

Ash chose to leave the splints and bandages in place; they didn't stop him from carrying Mew around and they were probably still needed.

With that a somewhat cheerful Mew left the clinic in Ash's arms with Pikachu at his heels.

o0o0o0o

"… And this is the Pokéball Room," said Ash as he showed Mew into the room.

For the tour, Ash had avoided Professor Oak's office where the Professor and the redhead he had seen earlier were. Instead they toured the labs, the library and ended at the aforementioned Pokéball Room.

"All of the Pokémon at the lab sleep here at night."

As with the other rooms, Mew began to curiously fly around the room and examine things. At first, Mew flying gave Ash and Pikachu a bit of a shock but they quickly got over it; assuming it was just some quirk of powerful psychic-types.

However, she was still a bit shaky flying around and previously she had gotten exhausted very quickly so Ash followed her closely as she – in each of the other rooms that is – had returned to Ash's arms were he would go back to carrying her again. Ash wasn't sure if this was because she was still tired and injured from her ordeal or because of Mew's young age so he made a point of asking the Professor about it.

Eventually – after checking out every nook and cranny in the Pokéball room – Mew picked a Pokéball off the shelf.

"Uh – Mew, it's probably best not to touch that," said Ash.

Mew had already played around with several things in each of the rooms they had visited like books and a coffee cup just to name a few – things professor Oak won't mind Mew playing with _too _much –but the Pokéballs didn't belong to Professor Oak and their trainers might not appreciate it.

However, with a flash of red light it was too late and a small blue bipedal Pokémon with a hard looking bony head appeared causing Mew to drop the empty Pokéball in shock and retreat back to Ash where she attempted – again – to bury herself in Ash's jacket.

Holding Mew comfortingly, Ash gave a sigh and again tried to console the tiny legendary as the freed Pokémon – which Ash vaguely remembered was native to Sinnoh and Hoenn – looked around in bewilderment.

"Sorry about that," apologised Ash to the Pokémon whose name he couldn't recall as he picked up the dropped Pokéball. "Return."

The Pokémon back in its Pokéball, Ash returned it too its nook on the self.

"She doesn't have any trouble with me and doesn't seem to have any trouble with you Pikachu, so what gives?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Pika, pikachu," replied Pikachu sadly which Ash interpreted as 'I don't know.'

"Well, let's get whatever Professor Oak wants done over with," said Ash. "I don't think we have any chance of getting Mew used to people in only an hour. Who knows, maybe if we're there she'll lighten up to people."

With an agreement from Pikachu the trio left the Pokéball room in search of the Professor.

o0o0o0o

Professor Oak was currently having a lively discussion with Misty on the topic of water Pokémon. Misty had quite clearly stated too him that her dream was to become one of the best water-type Masters in the world and as such she was quite happy to hear anything the Professor knew on the topic of water-types.

They were however interrupted – after losing track of time that is – by Ash, Pikachu and Mew entering the room.

"So, did you managed to calm her down?" asked the Professor as he glanced at Mew in Ash's arms.

"Well… yes," replied Ash carefully before explaining. "But she got scared again meeting another Pokémon."

"Pikachu?" asked the Prfoessor.

"No, she get on surprisingly well with Pikachu," replied Ash. "It was some Pokémon in the Pokéball room. She accidentally released one and freaked out before I put it back."

"Oh," said Professor Oak in thought.

"But that's what I wanted to ask you; why do you think she got along with Pikachu with no prompting?" asked Ash as he continued speaking.

"Hmm," hummed the Professor as he thought. "It could be smell. You and Pikachu are in close proximity with each other a lot. She may feel safe around you and because you smell a bit like Pikachu she feels safe around him too."

Ash nodded in understanding before the Professor continued talking.

"Now," he said. "You didn't happen to _borrow _a bicycle to get her with Mew, did you?"

Ash paled at the thought as he made the connection between the bike and the redhead but to Ash's surprise the Professor paled too, all-the-while Misty sat in a chair doing her best to give Ash a stern gaze."

"I shouldn't have said that," said Professor Oak as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Huh?" asked Misty in confusion as she looked between Professor Oak and Ash before setting her gaze on Mew and exclaiming. "Wait, Mew?"

The Professor gave a sigh at Misty's recognition of the name.

"I was trying to keep that quiet," he muttered loud enough for everyone to head.

"You stole my bike trying to save a Mew?" asked Misty with surprise and shock.

"Uh – yea, sorry about that," apologised Ash as he scratched his head with his free arm.

"Don't worry about it," she replied. "A lot of trainers – myself included – would probably do the same in that situation."

Misty then stood up and walked over to Ash.

"Besides, you're such a cutie," she said as she gave Mew – who was still trying to hide and unaware of Misty walking up to Ash – a scratch.

Mew made a few approving noises at the scratching before rolling in Ash's arms to face the scratcher at which she promptly rolled back and tried to hide again.

Misty gave a rejected sigh at that.

"How did she – uh – get in such a state?" asked Misty after getting over her rejection.

"Well, apparently she's really young, was sick and there's this really nasty flock of Spearow…"

"Ah – say no more," cut off Misty in understanding. "I know about them; I had to chase them off regularly else they would go through my camp looking for food. Very short tempered they are and they would do their best to wreck everything in the process."

"Yes, we have had dealing with that particular flock in the past," butted in Professor Oak before adding sternly. "Now, I assume you will be keeping quiet in this matter?"

"Not a word," she replied seriously.

Misty knew the Professor had a lot of influence in the League; saying anything about Mew to anyone outside this room was a one way ticket to a very difficult and short career as a trainer or gym leader.

"Good," he replied. "Now, Ash, I need to take a look at Mew. Can you try to keep her calm while I do the necessary tests?"

"I can try, Professor."

"Have you tried bribing her with food?" suggested Misty. "Generally you don't feed someone you're trying to hurt."

"Hmm – yes, that might work," mused Professor Oak. "She also hasn't had any food so far besides the nutritional drip."

Ash led Misty to the lab as Professor Oak went to retrieve some Pokémon food for young psychic Pokémon. He returned a short while later with a small bowl of food and some water for Mew.

"My lab assistant just arrived," said the Professor as he closed the door. "While I certainly trust the man, the less people who know about Mew the better, you never know; he might accidentally have a slip of the tongue one night at a bar."

"Is it really that important?" asked Ash. "I know Mew is rare but isn't that a bit far?"

Misty gave Ash a dubious smile at that before the Professor started talking.

"Mew is an incredibly rare Pokémon, Ash; even for a legendary. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that of the legendaries we know that actually exist – that we have the odd elusive photo of or the like – Mew is _the_ rarest," stated Professor Oak urgently. "Never have we had a Mew to study or a trainer caught one – and I'll say, Mew is pretty much your Pokémon at this point, in only a few hours she already goes to you for comfort like a parental figure and if we separated you she would most likely run. This is all made worse by who _you_ are; you're young and inexperienced. Of the few trainers who have caught legendaries they're effectively always very experienced and very powerful – not someone a criminal would want to run afoul of. An inexperienced and young trainer coupled with a rare and valuable Pokémon boils down to you being a huge target for thieves if word got out you were in possession of a Mew."

Professor Oak took a few deep breaths at the end of his spiel, having said it with nearly one breath.

"I didn't mean to get so worked up about it my boy, but I do hope you understand the gravity of the situation."

"Understood, Professor," replied Ash with a gulp.

Professor Oak gave him a reassuring smile.

"Now, let's see if we can bribe Mew into the tests I need to run."

o0o0o0o

It took a long half an hour of food based coercion to get Mew to even look at either Misty or Professor Oak. Another difficult half hour and she was happily accepting food from both of them.

Professor Oak then felt comfortable removing the IV catheter from Mew's arm which resulted in a distraught Mew crying on Ash's shoulder as Ash and Pikachu tried to console the weeping Pokémon.

Another hour – or half an hour if you took away the time it took to calm Mew down again – and Mew was happy to be held by Misty; though Mew refused to be held by the Professor and sent looks of betrayal at him every time he tried to interact with her.

"So young Mew _can_ fly," said the Professor when Mew tried to get away from him by flying into Ash's arms.

"I take it Mew normally fly?" asked Misty.

"Nearly all of the pictures of Mew we have depict them flying," replied Professor Oak in confirmation.

"Yea, she flies," said Ash. "But she seems to tire rather quickly. Do you think that's normal, Professor?"

"Hmm," he thought. "It could be she's still very tired and possibly because she's malnourished. It could also be because of her age. I guess as she gets back up to a healthy weight and recovers we'll see."

"So how long have you been a Pokémon trainer?" asked Misty once Professor Oak finished with Mew and got on with the day's activities leaving the two – plus Mew and Pikachu – alone.

"Well, I've had my Trainers Licence since I was ten. Pikachu was my starter and best buddie," he replied as Mew went back to sleep and Pikachu gave a confirming 'Pika!' before going back to his late breakfast. "And we've spent the last three years going around the Pallet Town area. The day before yesterday though was supposed to be the day I left on my Journey."

"So you're entering the League?" asked Misty in understanding.

"Yea, my goal is to become a Pokémon Master!" said Ash. "What about you?"

"My goal is to become a water Pokémon Master," she replied.

"So you like water Pokémon then?"

"Well, yea," she replied nervous chuckle as if it was obvious. "Have you caught any water Pokémon yet?"

"A Magikarp," replied Ash. "I've got a Pidgeotto too."

"A Magikarp…" repeated Misty. "Of all the water Pokémon you could have captured you chose Magikarp?"

"What?" replied Ash in offence. "Magikarp are good investment Pokémon."

"Investment Pokémon?" she asked in confusion. Misty had never heard someone describe a Pokémon as an investment before.

"Magikarp evolves into Gyarados," said Ash. "With a bit of work I'll have a powerful Gyarados."

Misty paled slightly at the mention of Gyarados.

"The aspiring water Pokémon Master doesn't like Gyarados?" asked Ash with a cheeky smirk.

"Well… they're rather scary," she replied with embarrassment.

Ash laughed at that earning a glare from Misty.

"They're no scarier than some other powerful Pokémon, Misty," said Ash as he contained his laughter at the water Pokémon trainer.

"Well, they have huge mouths and like shooting at people with Hyper Beam!" shouted Misty as she got angry at Ash. "Have you ever been chased by an angry Gyarados?"

o0o0o0o

Misty quickly got over the indignity of being laughed at for being a water Pokémon trainer scared of Gyarados and the pair set out to find something to eat.

"My mum runs a restaurant in town and usually lets me eat there for lunch but I'm not sure that's possible with Mew around," said Ash. "If you want we can probably go to my home and scrounge up something; I could easily hide Mew for the short walk home."

"Have you asked the Professor?" asked Misty. "Mew was just recently injured; it might not be a good idea to take her out of the lab."

"Can you watch her for me then?" asked Ash with a sigh. "Professor Oak did say not to let anyone else see her."

With Misty cradling the sleeping young Mew, Ash and Pikachu were free to track down the Professor.

"Is it ok for me to take Mew home with me?" asked Ash after finding the Professor typing on his computer and checking no one else was in sight. "We were hoping to go get some food."

Professor Oak didn't say anything for a few seconds before speaking.

"Just make sure she doesn't strain herself," said Professor Oak. "Try and keep the flying to a minimum until she's healed. Make sure she doesn't wander off either – she is young after all."

"Can do, Professor," replied Ash.

"I've been meaning to ask," said Professor Oak as Ash made to leave. "I was hoping I could run a few more tests on Mew. I've said it countless time but we _have_ never gotten a good look at a Mew before and I was hoping to write a paper on her."

"What would it involve?" asked Ash with curiosity. "And what about keeping Mew a secret?"

"I of course won't include anything that could identify you in the paper, Ash," said the Professor obviously. "As for the tests I would want a full x-ray for bone structure, an MRI for brain function, I suspect Mew's bulbous tail has some function – possibly psychic in origin – so I guess anther MRI for that, I already have blood samples, height, weight and – when Mew has recovered fully – I'd like to see how powerful her attacks are. It should only take a few hours."

"Hmm, I guess we could."

"Thank you," thanked the Professor as Ash made to leave again as his stomach rumbled. "Oh – and Ash, do actually capture Mew in a Pokéball soon."

As Ash walked back to the clinic to tell Misty they could go to his house to get some food he thought about how easily another trainer could take Mew right now.

o0o0o0o

"So do you want to be my Pokémon, Mew?" Ash asked after trying to explain the advantages to Mew and hoping she understood.

Before Mew could answer, Pikachu made some approving noises in agreement with Ash and was in clear agreement that it was a good idea.

Giving her answer Mew flew to Ash and gave him a hug

"Mew!" she said in agreement.

Ash took out a Pokéball and activated it, causing Mew to turn into a stream of red and disappear into the ball. Ash then subsequently released Mew who appeared – floating above the Ketchum Family table – and did a few tight loops and flew around in happiness.

"She seems to be taking it well," said Misty with some mirth as she watched Mew race around.

"Yea," said Ash with a chuckle.

It didn't take long for Mew to tire out and fall asleep again – this time in Misty's care – at which point Ash decided to keep trying to teach Pikachu Iron Tail out the back of the house while Misty watched.

"You don't happen to have any Pokémon that know Iron Tail, do you?" asked Ash several exhausting hours later.

"No, I don't, sorry," Misty replied.

Ash gave a sigh at that before fall down backwards on the grass where Pikachu joined him.

"Pi-kachu," replied Pikachu sadly.

"Don't worry, buddy," said Ash. "You gave it your best shot."

"Have you taught Pikachu any other moves?" asked Misty.

"Yea, I taught him Double Team," replied Ash. "It only took a few hours a day for a month to get it down pat."

"Well Double Team is a normal-type move," suggested Misty in thought. "Normal-type moves are usually very intuitive so they are easy to learn while Iron Tail is a steel-type and it's rather… different… you could say?"

Misty clearly wasn't happy with her explanation or wording.

"I think I get what you mean," said Ash after some processing. "That's one of the reasons I asked to see if you had any Pokémon who knew it; we were hoping to see a demonstration and get an explanation from a steel-type Pokémon."

"Not a bad idea… If I had a Pokémon who knew Iron Tail," said Misty. "None of my Pokémon know any steel-type moves actually."

"Damn," muttered Ash.

o0o0o0o

"Misty, this is my mum Delia," introduced Ash as his mother returned from her restaurant. "Mum, this is Misty; I borrowed her bike to get Mew to Professor Oak's lab yesterday."

Misty rolled her eyes at Ash's explanation.

"What he meant to say is he _stole_ my bike," said Misty to Delia's concern. "I forgave him though when I found out why."

Misty gestured to the sleeping Mew on the sofa causing Delia to relax.

"Oh, and this is Mimey," said Ash pointing out the Mr Mime who – after returning from work with Delia – had begun to dust around the house.

"Mime!" said Mimey with a wave before returning to the dusting.

"Will you be staying for dinner, dear?" asked Delia.

"If it's not a problem," said Misty with a smile. "It would make a nice change to the canned food I've been eating for a few weeks."

"So you've been travelling?" she asked curiously.

"Uh – sort've, I'm been camping for a while," responded Misty.

"We have a spare bedroom you can use if you want," suggested Delia. "Much nicer than a tent."

"I wouldn't want to impose," said Misty meekly. "I'm ok camping."

That was a lie but it didn't seem right to impose on someone she'd known for five minutes.

"It's really no problem, dear."

"Ok… thanks," conceded Misty. Delia seemed the type who wouldn't back down on offering accommodation or a meal.

"So Ash, how is Mew doing?" asked Delia now that was settled.

"Pretty well I think," replied Ash. "But she tires really easy and goes off to sleep; I guess that is normal for baby or young Pokémon though – especially when they're recovering from serious injury."

"That can be expected," said Delia with a concerned nod before sitting down on the sofa next to the sleeping Mew to give him a scratch.

"Try not to wake here, mum," said Ash. "She doesn't react well to other people or Pokémon right now."

"Oh – you poor thing," said Delia quietly in response.

"Yea," agreed Misty sadly.

"The only people she wanted to be near at first were Pikachu and me," said Ash. "It took a while for her to warm up to Misty and she really doesn't trust Professor Oak anymore."

"Oh – what happened?" asked Delia.

"Well she eventually trusted the Professor then he went and removed the catheter from Mew's arm and she panicked."

"Yea, every time she sees Professor Oak now she gives him these looks of betrayal," added Misty with mirth.

"Oh dear," said Delia with a small giggle. "I bet Samuel – Professor Oak that is – is put out by that."

"I bet he is," replied Ash with a grin.

"Now, what happened with keeping this quiet?" asked Delia before adding. "Not that I don't think you're a trustworthy person, Misty, but Samuel gave me the impression last night this would be kept under wraps."

"Ah – yes, it seems the Professor has a loose tongue and said too much when I was in the room."

"Hmm," hummed Delia as she pursed her lips. "He does need to be more careful."

o0o0o0o

It wasn't long before dinner that the doorbell chimed.

Deciding that it wasn't a good idea for a half-asleep Mew to be lying on the couch where a visitor could find her, Ash and Misty Picked her up and carried her up to Ash's room while Pikachu followed Delia to see who was at the door.

"Well…" said Misty looked around the room and lost for words at the multitude of Pokémon paraphernalia adoring the walls and every shelf.

Realising what she was gaping at Ash blushed in embarrassment.

"I've been meaning to get rid of most of this since I got my trainers licence," muttered Ash causing Misty to giggle. "You can talk Miss 'water Pokémon Master who doesn't like Gyarados'."

Misty narrowed her eyes at Ash's comment before there was a knock at the door.

"It's only Professor Oak," said the voice of Ash's mum.

"Ah – Ash, I was expecting you to return to the lab at some point," said the Professor as they entered the lounge room.

"Sorry about that," replied Ash as he gave his head a scratch.

"Yes, well, I have some medicine here that Mew needs to receive over the coming days and weeks," he said as he fished out several pill bottles from his lab coat. "Let's see; vitamin and mineral supplement for the malnutrition – twice daily, antibiotics for any infections – twice daily, and a general anti-poison for any lingering poison – once daily. Keep giving them too her until the bottles are empty."

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Ash as he tried to figure out the best way to get mew to eat a few pills.

"Yes, I would do it myself but… you know," said the professor exasperatedly.

Delia broke into giggles at that.

"You really are put out by that, aren't you?" she asked as she stifled her giggles.

"You know?"

"I know Mew doesn't like you anymore," she said.

The Professor gave a sigh at that.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked. "Misty is staying; the more the merrier."

o0o0o0o

"Come on Mew, would you eat these… for me? They'll help you get healthy and strong," said Ash pleading in what would be a typical morning for the next few days.

The morning following Mew's first night at the Ketchum residence included time where Mew got used to Delia; but she was still very shy, and easily frightened around other people and Pokémon. Though on the plus side it seemed Mew warmed up far quicker than she initially did.

However, to Ash's surprise Mew quickly warmed up to Mimey. Mew was flying around the Mr Mime while he did his usual pantomime to her in communication. Ash figured it was some sort of psychic-type thing going on and pushed it out of his mind.

The morning following Misty's first night was also interesting. Feeling the need to repay Delia Ketchum for her hospitality, Misty tried to wash the dishes from breakfast only to be chased out by Mimey.

"Don't try to do anything Mimey considers 'his' job," said Ash helpingly as he poured a bowl of food for Pikachu while Pikachu added tomato sauce to it. "He's very possessive about them and the only person he'll listen to is mum."

"Pika-chu," nodded Pikachu in agreement.

It was several days later when Professor Oak was around for dinner _again_ – to Misty's slight bewilderment; '_did he live here?_' she thought – that Ash chose to ask some questions about Mew.

"How long do you think she still needs to recover, Professor?" he asked as he thought about how far ahead Gary was.

"Two, maybe three days I think," he replied. "Have you tried out any of Mew's moves?"

"No, we haven't," replied Ash. "You said she needs to take it easy."

Mew still slept a lot but she had stopped taking naps during the day like clockwork like she had at first. She could also fly around for a lot longer; though Ash wasn't sure if the reason she stopped flying around was because she was tired or if it was because she like being carried around by Ash.

On top of that, Mew was quickly seeing Pikachu as the idolised older brother; going so far as to mimic Pikachu by sitting on Ash's shoulder – when she wasn't of course cuddling into Ash's arms that is.

"While the caution is admirable I figured you'd have eventually ignored it," said Professor Oak before stopping and pondering for a moment. "I guess I'm still seeing the very reckless Ash who received a Pikachu from me when he was ten."

Delia was clearly reminiscing at that, so – fearing what would happen next if it continued; like breaking out the baby photos for example – Ash pressed on with the discussion.

"I think I'll get back on my journey in three days then," he said.

"Three days," repeated the Professor while Delia looked ever so slightly downtrodden. "Your first – well, technically second – gym badge is going to be Cerulean City; isn't it?"

"Uh – yea," replied Ash, not really following the Professor's line of thought.

"Well in four days I'm heading off to that archaeology conference I was telling you about, Ash," he said. "I could give you a lift if you want – Misty too."

"Gee – uh – thanks," replied Ash.

"Thank you," replied Misty though she wasn't sure she actually wanted to go back to Cerulean City.

"What are you going to do about Mew though?" asked Delia. "She isn't very discreet and is very noticeable."

"Hmm," thought Ash. "She's taken after Pikachu in that she doesn't like her Pokéball very much."

Ash tried to give Pikachu a glare while he sat their shameless and unabashedly.

"Have you checked her moves yet?" asked the Professor knowingly. "I believe a solution is in there."

"No, I haven't. I only used my Pokédex to identify her when I found her," he said as he fished his Pokédex out of his pocket while Misty rolled her eyes affectionately.

"_Mew; the legendary psychic Pokémon," _stated the electronic voice of Dexter after pointing it at the sleeping Mew on one of dining room chairs. _"This Mew is female and knows the moves Pound, Reflect Type and Transform."_

"You knew?" asked Misty to the Professor in understanding.

"No photos of it, but we do have eyewitnesses saying that Mew can transform just like Ditto," he said with a shrug.

"So Mew should just transform into some less rare Pokémon?" said Ash catching on.

"I would say so, yes," replied the Professor.

At that point Delia's eyes almost lit up.

"Oh – that means she needs a name!" exclaimed Delia in delight. "You can't keep calling her Mew after all."

"Pinky," suggested Ash... lamely.

"No, I don't think so Ash, that's... just a terrible name," said Misty immediately. "It explains why Pikachu is called Pikachu if that's your name suggestion."

"I agree; that's not a very good name," agreed Delia. "If you want pink themes though we could call her Rose."

Misty gave a slight grimace at that.

"Why not Ruby?" suggested Misty. "Some rubies are pink and red is pretty close to pink."

"Hmm… Okay," conceded Delia.

Ash and Pikachu just shook their heads at this exchange.

"I guess Mew and I have no input in this?"

o0o0o0o

Ash, Misty, Pikachu and the newly titled Ruby made their way to Professor Oak's lab the next morning.

Before they left – and when Ruby was once again awake – Ash asked Ruby to transform into Pikachu. It took a little while – possibly because Ruby had never done it before – but she quickly got it down Pat.

So on their way to Professor Oak's Lab it appeared there were two Pikachu's riding on Ash Ketchum's shoulders.

"You know, I think that invariably at some point some other trainer will accuse you of hogging all the Pikachu's," said Misty as they walked past her still chained up bike and up the path to the lab.

Ash glanced between Pikachu and Ruby before speaking.

"You know what? You're probably right," he said. "There are some rather unintelligent people in the world with weird views."

Misty held her tongue at the retort she was just about to speak regarding 'some unintelligent people' when they found the Professor.

"So transform worked then? You found a solution?" he asked.

"Yep," replied Ash. "Can you guess which Pikachu is Ruby?"

"Easy," replied the Professor. "Ruby is the Pikachu on your right shoulder."

"Uh – how did you know?" asked Misty as he gaze switched between the two Pikachu.

"Well, ignoring the gaze of betrayal Ruby is rather fond of directing at me it's because female Pikachu have a notch in the end of their tail," said the Professor as he pointed it out which resulted in Ruby transforming back into her usual form and flying out of arms reach of the Professor.

"Ah – yes," stated Misty.

"So, those tests?" prompted Ash.

Height and weight were easy measurements to get. They required no special training to perform meaning the Professor didn't need to be involved in them and thus Ruby was cooperative. The x-ray and MRI were a bit more complicated; Ash eventually had to sit there and almost hold Ruby's hand while they were performed.

"I think I might be onto something!" exclaimed Professor Oak once the MRI of Ruby's tail was complete.

"What is it?" asked Ash.

"I think Ruby's bulbous tail might be some sort of psychic organ, making Ruby's psychic powers more powerful; almost like how the brain is behind psychic powers in most psychic Pokémon but Ruby seems to have another organ in conjunction to the brain that does so!" said the Professor in an almost giddy manner. "This will require more research!"

They then spent the next hour getting Ruby to perform various moves while the professor waved a few different electronic measurement devices around her and recorded Transform with a camera for future study.

o0o0o0o

"Some bugger has nicked my bike!" shouted Misty as Ash packed his bag next to Misty's bag and the Professor's bag in the boot of the Professor's four-by-four.

Having heard the noise, Ash rushed out to find Misty standing by the sign to Oak Laboratories holding a length of chain and her bike nowhere in sight.

"Uh – what happened, Misty?"

"Someone stole my bike, again!" she said as she thrusted the length of chain under Ash's nose.

Ash took a look at the chain and saw it looked like someone had cut it with a pair of bolt-cutters.

"Oh," said Ash simply to Misty's quiet rage.

Misty eventually calmed down though she muttered things about thieves under her breath as she, Ash, Professor Oak, Pikachu and Ruby – who sat as far away as she could from the Professor – rode down the bumpy dirt road to Viridian City and later Cerulean City.

"You know," said the professor as they had a snack break not far outside of Cerulean City. "You don't have to have your gym battle at a gym; you just have to fight the gym leader."

"Huh?" asked Ash in confusion as Misty tensed.

"Uh – you don't know?" asked Professor Oak carefully.

"Know what?"

"That Misty here is one of the Cerulean City Gym leaders?" asked Professor Oak as Misty sighed.

"What?" shouted Ash as he jumped up.

* * *

**Thank you for reading the first chapter. This is the longest single chapter I've ever written at just over 11k words.**

**Yes, there will be Cynthia next chapter and yes I don't like Spearow  
**

**I would like some feedback on Delia. In the anime she seems rather chirpy so I tried to portray that here.**

**Please leave reviews and give feedback. Don't forget to favourite and follow either.  
**

**AN-1:**

**I forgot to say. I'm going to _try_ and get a chapter out of one of my main stories every two weeks. Hopefully when I've gotten into a rhythm it will go down to once per week.**

**Unfortunately _Unspeakable Employment_ is going on hold. I'm stuck writing the lessons between now and Hogwarts and I just can't bring myself to keep writing. Maybe later I'll get back to it; it will be done when it's done.**

**AN-2:**

**Went through and fixed up quite a few spelling errors.**

**For those of you wondering I've been putting some thought into Misty's outfit; her outfit in the orginal series was horrible. I sort've imagined she would wear maybe quarter length jeans and mayble a sleevless yellow hoodie; ****I figured a yellow sleeveless hoodie would suit her and it still 'feels' like something Misty would wear.  
**

**AN-3:**

**What should Cynthia's last name be? I know Shinora is popular and White was used in 'The Journey of a Master'. What do you guys suggest?**


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